The present invention relates generally to devices for the servicing of heavy-duty truck clutches. More particularly, the present invention relates to clutch handlers.
In heavy-duty truck clutches, a mechanic has to manually lower or raise a clutch from the clutch housing to ground level. Due to the weight and size of truck clutches and of the confined space that exists under a vehicle, a few devices have been introduced in the past to assist mechanics with the tasks of removing and installing clutches and components. Because of the low floor clearance found on newer trucks, a particular handler style has become more popular among mechanics. On these cart styles, a clutch can be flipped from a horizontal position to a vertical position to allow the lifting device with the clutch to slide under a truck without having to lift the truck off the floor. Prior art clutch handlers of the type(s) mentioned above include: U.S. Pat. No. 5,190,265, to Barry et al., issued Mar. 2, 1993; U.S. Pat. No. 5,251,875 to Craychee et al., issued Oct. 12, 1993; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,189,864 to Crow et al., issued Feb. 20, 2001 the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
Furthermore, it is common knowledge that after a certain amount of usage of commercial and recreational vehicles, operative parts thereof, including flywheels, clutches, starters, transmissions, drive shafts, bell housings and the like, wear or breakdown therefore need repair or replacement. Because of the weight, size and shape of such parts, and the confined space in which a mechanic must ordinarily work, handling of such parts, when being removed or installed is time-consuming, strenuous and dangerous unless a properly designed mechanical device is employed.
A conventional mechanical or hydraulic jack is generally unsatisfactory for this purpose because of its failure to provide adequate support for parts of irregular shape, with the resulting danger that the removed part may topple from the jack and injure the mechanic. In addition, use of the conventional jack has been objectionable because such devices have required laborious and time-consuming efforts of the mechanic and usually requires assistance by another mechanic or helper in removing or installing the automotive part being replaced or repaired. The additional effort and assistance are necessary because conventional jacks do not provide a means to adjustably guide the part on the jack so that it can be lifted and returned to its original position. Accordingly, use of these prior-art jacks are costly due to the relatively high costs of labor. Also, conventional jacks are ordinarily limited to movement in vertical directions.
Devices which overcome the foregoing and other drawbacks of conventional hydraulic jacks are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,948,484, to Tesinsky, issued Apr. 6, 1976, discloses a device to be used in conjunction with a conventional hydraulic jack and for removing a transfer case from an automobile transmission. The device comprises a base mountable to the hydraulic jack and a cradle plate pivotally connected to the base for movement about a horizontal axis of rotation. To remove the crank case from the transmission, the base is mounted over the extensible portion of the jack and the same is raised until the cradle plate engages the crank case and is securely mounted thereto. Subsequently, the plate is pivoted downwardly to tilt the crank out of the way of obstructing parts of the automobile, and then the crank is transported on the jack to a work area for repair.
In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 4,188,010, to Hanscom, issued Oct. 3, 1978, discloses a lifting device comprising, in relevant part, a castered base, an upright support mounted to one side of the base and a boom adapted to pivotally attach to upper or lower portions of the upright support for vertical movement with respect thereto. A hydraulic cylinder is used for actuating pivotal movement of the boom. When the boom is mounted to the top portion of the upright support, the boom functions as a hoist and for this purpose is provided with a hook, chain or cable for lifting. When the boom is mounted to the bottom portion of the upright support, the boom functions as a jacking device for removing and installing automobile transmissions and the like and for this purpose is provided with a cradle tiltably mounted at the rear end of the boom. The cradle can be adjusted to fit various types of transmissions, gear boxes or the like and can be raised or lowered while maintaining a predetermined level relative to the horizontal.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 2,643,779, to Hamlin, issued Jan. 15, 1949, discloses a jack for handling transmissions and the like during installation and removal of the same and comprising a castered base, a frame at one end of the base, and an arm pivotally secured to the frame. A pneumatic cylinder is secured to and between the frame and the arm and actuates vertical movement of the arm. A cradle is pivotally mounted to the free end of the arm for rotation in the plane of movement of the arm. The transmission is adapted to mount to the cradle. In this manner, the cradle is rotatably adjustable independent of the arm.
Although the devices disclosed above overcome any of the disadvantages associated with conventional jacks, they are not without their own drawbacks. Many of these devices include a boom pivotally mounted to a base and a support pivotally mounted to the free end of the boom to permit the support to maintain a horizontal condition when the boom is moved between upper and lower positions. The support, however, is only rotatable through a horizontal axis of rotation. In addition, although in some instances the support may be adjusted to mount more than one type of automotive part, as disclosed above by Hanscom, in the majority of cases, only one support is provided. Thus, the support is, by its very nature, limited to the types of parts which it can mount and the secureness of the mounting.
The need for the present invention comes from the fact that the prior art does not address the danger of manually flipping a 150-lb. clutch between the horizontal and the vertical positions while lying underneath the truck. When a clutch is flipped between a horizontal position and a vertical position, several things could happen, such as the lifting device moving inadvertently or injury to the hands and back of a user.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a clutch handler that overcomes these problems by using a unique linkage structure that allows the clutch to be flipped between a horizontal position to a vertical position without manual assistance.
The present invention overcomes the need for manually handling heavy clutches and the like when flipping between a horizontal position to a vertical position. In one aspect of the invention, to achieve the desired positioning, a unique linkage is utilized that allows the clutch to be flipped between the horizontal and the vertical positions without direct manual assistance from a user.
In another aspect of the present invention to provide a clutch handler with a unique linkage lift design for moving a clutch from a horizontal position to a vertical position without the risks associated with manually flipping the clutch from a horizontal position to a vertical position, such as injury to a user""s hands or back while lifting.
In yet another aspect of the present invention to provide a single hydraulic unit and linkage that can lift the clutch to the height needed for removal or installation of the clutch as well as flip the clutch between the horizontal and vertical positions.
There has been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described below and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein, as well as the abstract, are for the purposes of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent construction insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.